Green Collar Workers: An Emerging Workforce in the Environmental Sector

This paper describes the sociodemographic, occupational, and health characteristics of “green collar” workers, a vital and emerging workforce in energy-efficiency and sustainability.

This study linked data from the 2004 to 2012 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) and US Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted using green collar worker status as the outcome.

Green collar workers are more likely than nongreen workers to be men, age 25 to 64 years, obese, and with less than or equal to high school education. They are less likely to be racial/ethnic minorities and employed in small companies or government jobs.

Green collar workers have a distinct sociodemographic and occupational profile, and this workforce deserves active surveillance to protect its workers’ safety. The NHIS/O*NET linkage represents a valuable resource to further identify the unique exposures and characteristics of this occupational sector.

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